In a lighter moment, Judge Russell Healey realizes that the State is not present in the courtroom. They were in the hallway in conference, as he tries to rule on a jury question about "Bendy" the foam body representation used in the case. He waited until the State returned to the courtroom.

Defense attorney Cory Strolla(L) talks with his client, Michael Dunn, as the day begins and deliberations resume at 9 a.m. After six days of testimony, closing arguments and a full day of deliberation, the trial of Michael Dunn for the shooting death of Jordan Davis in November 2012, resumed with continued jury deliberation on Friday Feb. 14, 2014. The case is being heard in the courtroom of acting Circuit Judge Russell Healey in the Duval County Courthouse in Jacksonville, Fl. (The Florida Times-Union, Bob Mack) POOL PHOTO.

Lucia McBath, (2nd,R) mother of the victim, Jordan Davis, holds hands with her husband, Curtis McBath(R) as they walk out of the courtroom as the day of waiting begins. After six days of testimony, closing arguments and a full day of deliberation, the trial of Michael Dunn for the shooting death of Jordan Davis in November 2012, resumed with continued jury deliberation on Friday Feb. 14, 2014. The case is being heard in the courtroom of acting Circuit Judge Russell Healey in the Duval County Courthouse in Jacksonville, Fl. (The Florida Times-Union, Bob Mack) POOL PHOTO.

A LOOK AT THE FIRST DUNN TRIAL

Related Dunn coverage

Video: Michael Dunn police interview

Dunn explains what happened

Police tell Dunn that Jordan Davis, 17, didn't have a weapon

7 p.m. update: The jurors have said they have reached a wall for this evening, and have asked the judge if they can be released for the night. The judge says yes. They’ll come back Saturday morning at 9.

6 p.m. update: The jury can drop the murder and attempted-murder charges to second-degree murder or manslaughter. But it must be unanimous. Some jurors may think the first shots were self-defense, but firing at the retreating car was attempted murder. If jury does deadlock on murder charge, it would be a good bet that the State Attorney’s Office decides to try him again on that count. The Davis family may not want to go through another trial but they been very strong throughout this.

5:30 p.m. update: To remind everyone, there are five charges against Michael Dunn: one count of first-degree murder, three counts of attempted murder and one count of throwing a deadly missile. Jurors have indicated they are deadlocked on at least one. They’ve not said which one, but an educated guess would be first-degree murder. First-degree murder would mean it was premeditated.

5:20 p.m. update: The jurors in the Michael Dunn trial are on break. The judge has said they will go as late as possible tonight, then Saturday and maybe even Sunday.

Here’s more on what just happened (update by Larry Hannan): They are deadlocked on at least one of the charges against him.

Around 5 p.m. jurors sent a question to acting Circuit Judge Russell Healey asking if it was possible to not reach a verdict on one count and reach a verdict on the other counts. Healey told them that was possible, and then granted a request they made for a 30-minute break.

The jurors appeared exhausted when they came into the courtroom, and one juror appeared to be close to crying. Dunn is charged with the murder of Jordan Davis, the attempted murders of Tevin Thompson, Leland Brunson and Tommie Stornes and shooting or firing a deadly missile.

If the jury deadlocks on one of those charges, a mistrial will be declared and State Attorney Angela Corey will have to decide whether to retry Dunn on those charges.

It is not clear how much longer the jurors will deliberate tonight. Healey said they would stay as long as they wanted. He also said the jury would come back on Saturday if a verdict isn’t reached on Friday.

5 p.m. update: The jurors have asked for dinner. The judge has said he wants them go as late as they can tonight to try to get a verdict. So it’s likely going to be a long one and Saturday could be an option. The jury deliberation has exceeded the time it took the George Zimmerman jury.

The jury also has its first questions of the day, this fifth so far in deliberation. First question: Are we able to take 30-minute break? Second question: Is it possible to not reach a verdict on one count and reach a verdict on other counts?

Ron Davis, Jordan Davis’ father, looks very stoic right now.

The jurors will get a break. And they can reach a verdict on some counts but not all counts.

Michael Dunn says he doesn’t understand the question. Basically, according to Judge Russell Healey, what they’re saying is, he has five counts. Can they reach verdict on, say, three but not on two? The law allows that, Healey says.

There are procedures to go through first. Healey explains a mistrial could be declared on the count jurors are deadlocked on. Jurors are rubbing eyes. Some look on the verge of tears.

2:30 p.m. update: U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Fla., is among those who have shown up for the trial and told media she wants to see judges get more sentencing discretion and prosecution get less.

Brown brought up Marissa Alexander, who was given an automatic 20-year prison sentence for firing what Alexander called a warning shot at her estranged husband.

The State Attorney’s Office brought an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge against Alexander.

Brown railed against the automatic prison sentence, while also saying the Stand Your Ground self-defense law — which Alexander used but was denied in her case — should be more narrowly tailored.

The Jacksonville congresswoman cited the George Zimmerman acquittal as an example of self-defense laws gone awry.

She said if someone hadn’t written down Michael Dunn’s license plate number, then there’s no telling if he would’ve ever been charged in the shooting death of 17-year-old Jordan Davis.

Though Brown is based in Washington, she said she “will lead the march to Tallahassee to get this overturned.”

She said State Attorney Angela Corey has been “the common thread” between Zimmerman, Alexander and Dunn. Her office prosecuted all three. She failed to secure a conviction against Zimmerman. She brought a conviction against Alexander, but it was later overturned and now Alexander is being brought back on a re-trial. She is waiting to hear a verdict in the Dunn case.

Brown said Davis’ parents were “holding up.”

2:15 p.m. update: As far as the concern about the courtroom’s thin walls, attorney Cory Strolla, who is representing Michael Dunn, said he didn’t complain to Judge Russell Healey and didn’t think the jurors heard anything. The jury room isn’t right next to that courtroom, it’s further back, so he’s confident that nothing was heard.

He thinks Healey is just exercising an abundance of caution.

1:30 p.m. update: Still nothing from jurors. For those who are interested, the alternates consist of a white man, white woman, black woman and Asian woman.

Noon update: Family and friends of the Davis family continue to wait for a verdict on fourth floor. Cory Strolla, Michael Dunn’s attorney, has been talking a lot on his cellphone on the second floor. In and around the courthouse has been somewhat of a circus with all the media in town. The same game protesting outside is complaining about three days of deliberations.

11:25 p.m. update: As jurors continue to deliberate closing in on 14 hours, here’s some background on what happens when a jury deadlocks in a criminal case.

Usually referred to as a hung jury, it involves a jury telling a judge that the six or 12 people on the jury can’t agree on what the verdict should be.

The 12 people on the Michael Dunn jury haven’t indicated they disagree on the verdict. But as they deliberate for a third day, the possibility begins to seem more likely.

Jacksonville attorney Jim Hernandez recently went through two hung juries with the same client, Andrew King, accused of killing his former girlfriend. Two separate juries deadlocked on his guilt before a third jury convicted him.

Hernandez said jurors deliberated about 10 hours both times before they were deemed mistrials (or hung). But they got a sense from the jurors’ questions early that a mistrial was likely.

There is no specific time limit for how long a jury can deliberate. Hernandez said the jury usually gives the judge an indication that it can’t reach a verdict.

When a judge realizes that a jury is deadlocked, he or she usually gives the group what’s called an Allen Charge.

That instructs jurors to go back into deliberations, and for each juror to point out the weakness of their own position.

If jurors still cannot reach a verdict after that, a mistrial is usually declared. When that happens and prosecutors decide to try the case again, the case goes back to square one with the defendant being arraigned again and another trial occurring.

Here’s what judges are supposed to read to jurors under the Allen Charge:

“I know that all of you have worked hard to try to find a verdict in this case. It apparently has been impossible for you so far. Sometimes an early vote before discussion can make it hard to reach an agreement about the case later. The vote, not the discussion, might make it hard to see all sides of the case.

“We are all aware that it is legally permissible for a jury to disagree. There are two things a jury can lawfully do: agree on a verdict or disagree on what the facts of the case may truly be.

“There is nothing to disagree about on the law. The law is as I told you. If you have any disagreements about the law, I should clear them for you now. That should be my problem, not yours.

“If you disagree over what you believe the evidence showed, then only you can resolve that conflict, if it is to be resolved.

“I have only one request of you. By law, I cannot demand this of you, but I want you to go back into the jury room. Then, taking turns, tell each of the other jurors about any weakness of your own position. You should not interrupt each other or comment on each other’s views until each of you had a chance to talk. After you have done that, if you simply cannot reach a verdict, then return to the courtroom and I will declare this case mistried, and will discharge you with my sincere appreciation of your services.

“You may now retire to continue with your deliberations.”

11 a.m. update: Nothing new on the jury front.

9:15 a.m. update: Jurors are officially back deliberating for their third day. Judge Russell Healey isn’t going to allow the public into courtroom during recesses. People could come in yesterday but Healey said it didn’t work. People usually are not allowed into courtrooms during jury deliberations. They’ll be allowed in before the jury comes back. Basically Healey’s worried the walls are too thin in the courtroom and that jurors can hear people in the courtroom and vice versa.

INITIAL STORY

As the Rev. Ken Adkins waited through a second day of jury deliberation in the Michael Dunn murder trial, he began to contemplate the possibility that the jury would deadlock.

“I think it will take the wind out of the black community if that happens,” said Adkins, pastor of Greater Dimension Christian Fellowship in Brunswick, Ga. “It will damage our trust in government institutions.”

A jury of four white men, four white women, two black women, one Hispanic man and one Asian woman finished deliberating on Thursday night without reaching a verdict on whether Michael Dunn is guilty of the murder of 17-year-old Jordan Davis and the attempted murder of three other teenagers. They will return for a third day of deliberating on Friday.

Dunn shot Davis in the parking lot of a Southside Gate gas station after the two men argued about loud music coming from Davis’ vehicle. Dunn claims Davis was threatening to kill him, while other people that night say Davis cursed at Dunn but never physically threatened him.

Adkins, who sat through the majority of the trial, believes Dunn is guilty but worries that racial divisions among the jurors will deadlock them.

He especially worries about the white men on the jury, Adkins said.

“There’s a stereotype white men have towards black males,” Adkins said. “There’s an image of black males as predators.”

The parents of Jordan Davis, Lucia McBath and Ron Davis, both said they were satisfied with how the jury was doing.

“They’re being thorough and that’s all you want,” Ron Davis said. “They’re working hard to make a just decision.”

McBath said the case has been very trying for the family, but they’ve been overwhelmed by the love and support of the community.

“We are patiently waiting and we believe justice will be served,” McBath said. “And no matter what happens, we’ll move forward.”

Cory Strolla, attorney for Dunn, also said he was pleased with the deliberative way the jury was proceeding.

In deliberations on Wednesday, the jury asked to view video from inside the Gate gas station taken as the shooting was occurring and Strolla said he took that as a good sign.

Prosecutors showed the jurors portions of that video during the trial, but the jurors wanted to see all of it and Strolla said he believes that means the jurors aren’t taking what the prosecutors said at face value.

Strolla also said this was a self-defense case, not a Stand Your Ground case.

Stand Your Ground allows the use of deadly force instead of retreating if the person is afraid for his or her life.

The jury instructions actually use the phrase “stand your ground” at one point when discussing self-defense, but Rod Sullivan, a professor at Florida Coastal School of Law, agreed this was not Stand Your Ground the way the public thinks of it.

“A justifiable use of deadly force case only becomes a Stand Your Ground case where a shooter has the opportunity to flee and instead decides to fight it out using deadly force,” Sullivan said. “In this case, according to Dunn’s story, he had no way to safely retreat, and hence calling this a Stand Your Ground case is, in my opinion, inaccurate.”

Sullivan said he attaches no significance to the length of deliberations or the questions that are asked by the jury because it’s impossible to tell what they are thinking.

“You know, you have 12 people in a room and each one needs to get a chance to talk,” Sullivan said.

“You’ve got one foreman who has to politely listen to everyone, and then to politely give everyone a chance to throw out their ideas.”

Jacksonville attorney Janet Johnson said the jury seems to be methodically going through Strolla’s defense argument that Dunn killed Davis in self-defense.

The jury has asked four questions.

Besides asking to see video of the inside of the Gate gas station when the shooting occurred, on Thursday jurors asked if they can see the gray foam mannequin that the medical examiner used to demonstrate how Jordan Davis may have been shot. Then they asked for a full set of jury instructions and paper to write on, and finally they asked for the date that Michael Dunn wrote letters from jail.

The video was watched by the jury, instructions and paper were provided and acting Circuit Judge Russell Healey told jurors the letter in question was written in June 2013.

But Healey did not let jurors inspect the mannequin because it was only meant to be a visual display, and was not part of the evidence the jurors are supposed to consider.

Based on those questions, jurors appear to be debating whether Dunn is guilty of first-degree murder, Johnson said.

Even though prosecutors charged Dunn with first-degree murder, jurors can convict him of second-degree murder or manslaughter if they decide the evidence doesn’t warrant a conviction for murder in the first degree.

Johnson had praise for Strolla, saying he did an excellent job arguing a case against a well-funded prosecutors office whose elected leader, Angela Corey, was personally prosecuting the case.

“It was a David vs. Goliath situation and I think Strolla handled himself really well,” Johnson said.

Sullivan had praise for Assistant State Attorney Erin Wolfson, who was the first prosecutor on the scene the night of the crime and who handled the state’s closing argument.

“[Wolfson] is just five years out of law school but I thought her closing was deliberate, thoughtful and had just the right level of emotion in it,” Sullivan said.

He was more critical of Assistant State Attorney John Guy, who cross-examined Dunn when he was on the stand.

“I think Guy had a bad cross-examination of the defendant,” Sullivan said. “Guy has the ability to be surgical in cross-examination, but he wasn’t with Dunn. He was too blunt.”

Good point Randomguy. Let's hope that the libertandude takes his bigotry elsewhere. Nobody will miss him.

What this trial shows is how much harder is for minorities to get real justice in Florida. Not many things have changed. If the races were reversed and Dunn was black and Davis was white you can bet that Dunn would have been convicted already of first degree murder.

FTU's covèrage of this trial has been disgusting, interviewing people that obviously have a racial bias towards the outcome. Giving play by play of non-events with with the zeal of a teenage girl going to high school dance. I missed the lengthy coverage of black on black/white crimes that are all too frequent in this city, why do you do this FTU, is it your goal to fan the flames of racial turmoil ?

Hopefully the jury will render the proper verdict of attempted murder and second degree murder so the race hustlers at FTU and in the community can crawl back in their rat holes where they belong.

As for FTU, I'm charging you with negligent journalism and canceling my subscription.

Here's something that hasn't been thought about. If Dunn was JSO would we even be talking about this. I have seen JSO get by with some very questionable shootings. Remember the UNARMED passenger on the motorcycle was killed because the cop THOUGHT they were going to go for something?

If Dunn had been wearing a badge Angela Corey would be standing shoulder to shoulder with him telling the world how courageous he was.